In 2006, Kirby was appointed an assistant professor of post-secondary education studies in the Faculty of Education at [[Memorial University of Newfoundland]]. He was promoted to the position of associate professor in 2011. Prior to joining Memorial University, he worked as a senior advisor on education policy in the [[Government of Ontario|Ontario Public Service]].<ref name="personalwebpage">{{cite web |url=http://www.dalekirby.com |title=Dale Kirby's personal webpage |publisher=www.dalekirby.com |accessdate=January 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426091528/http://www.dalekirby.com/ |archive-date=April 26, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Kirby is a professor, researcher, and consultant on student access and participation in college and university and in the area of online learning.<ref>[{{cite web|url=https://www.mun.ca/gazette/issues/vol42no13/kirby.php "|title=Dale Kirby: Invitation to speak"]. [[|work=MUN Gazette]]|access-date=May 24, 2024|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717101736/https://www.mun.ca/gazette/issues/vol42no13/kirby.php|archivedate=July 17, 2010}}</ref> In recognition of his contributions and advocacy, the [[Canadian Council on Learning]] named him a [[Minerva]] Scholar in 2007.<ref>[http://today.mun.ca/news.php?news_id=3400 "Canadian Council on Learning honours education professor"], November 28, 2007. [[MUN Gazette]].</ref> In 2011, he received the R. W. B. Jackson Award from the Canadian Educational Researchers Association as well the Best Research Paper Award at the 2011 European Distance and E-Learning Network Annual Conference.<ref>[{{cite web|url=https://www.mun.ca/educ/home/archive/kirby_award.php "|title=Kirby and Gardner take home award"]. [[|publisher=MUN Faculty of Education]], |date=June 3, 2011|access-date=May 24, 2024|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222090813/https://www.mun.ca/educ/home/archive/kirby_award.php|archivedate=December 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>[{{cite web|url=https://www.mun.ca/gazette/issues/vol43no17/education2.php "|title=Education paper head of the class"]. [[|work=MUN Gazette]]|access-date=May 24, 2024|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108101148/https://www.mun.ca/gazette/issues/vol43no17/education2.php|archivedate=November 8, 2015}}</ref>
